The Shield Shall decide
by Annie Thomas
Summary: This is the story of how one little girl with a big secret and a bigger heart, changes the Slytherin prince ( The Evil dragon, The ferret, whatever you may know him as), and the course of the war. She is now leaving her family behind, join her as she tells you why has to leave.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everyone, This is my first story ever. I have an outline of where my story will go in the next few chapters, and am hoping y'all will enjoy reading this story as much as I did writing it. _

_Disclaimer: All of the characters and Cannon scenes belong to J. , except My OCs. Any resemblance to any fictional or non fictional character is purely coincidental. _

_Here you go,..._

**Chapter-1 Escapade**

A woman with long strawberry blonde hair that reached almost mid thighs, stood at the door hesitantly, questioning her rash decision to leave - Why did she decide to leave? Could she leave her whole life, Family, and Friends behind? No, she had to leave, if only for a while, she had to. She needed a break, a retreat from her complicated life.

She traced the design on her locket out of habit and made up her mind. She wanted… No, needed this vacation from all the drama. So, with one final glance at the room, she lifted her bags and started walking. As soon as she reached a deserted alley, making sure all her belongings were secure, she took an old soda can from her pocket and checked the time on her watch and thought '11:29:30 just on time, thank merlin'. The can started to become warm, and within a few seconds she felt a tugging sensation at her navel and vanished on the spot, reappearing in a bathroom stall which read ' OUT OF ORDER'. Once again making sure she had all her belongings and her wand, she stepped out of the bathroom, into the airport.

A man, with medium length blonde hair, grey eyes that reminded her of a stormy sky, wearing a designer suit approached her and gestured her to follow. Once they had privacy, he gave her a giant hug, "Are you sure you want to leave?" he asked, "Yes drake, am sure" "alright, just as long as you're sure. You do know how difficult it is going to be to hide this from them, don't you?" "Of course dear drakeypoo, of course" she smirked. "Oh Ann, am going to miss you, we all will" he sighed, "Take care darling, I love you, am always a floo call away, remember that" she said. They were interrupted when Ann heard someone announcing that they were ready for the first class passengers to board. Anna collected her belongings and laughed "Well Draco, that's my cue to leave. I still don't understand why you had to book me a first class ticket. Economy would have been just fine". "I still don't understand why you couldn't use a portkey or why you refuse to use the summer mansion in Paris for your vacation instead" Draco said in a high pitched girly voice trying to imitate her and lighten the mood. "Bye Draco" She said kissing his cheek and going to the nearby security check-point. Draco waved, "Bye Annie" and went away as fast as his legs could carry him, afraid he would petrify her and take her back home or that he would cry like a baby in a stupid muggle place. He apparated to his home, Malfoy manor, and went into the library, sitting in his chair, poured himself a glass of fire whiskey and let the tears flow freely on to his pale cheeks. He would miss her would be the understatement of the century. Merlin's beard, she was his best friend, the only person who understood what he was going through. She protected him during the war, and the only reason he realized the path his life was taking. The only one who had faith in him, faith that he will do what is right in the end. And he did what was right, for her, for himself and also because he believed in himself as at last there was someone who understood him, his decisions and his flaws and yet believed in him. He would have laughed if a few years ago someone told him he would join the side of the light, or that he would stand up to his father. He was happy now with the life he now had, his girlfriend, mother and home, which reminded him that it was time to leave for work.

...At the airport,

Ann smiled at the flight attendant who welcomed her onto the flight and showed her to her seat. It was spacious and on the side table there were some chocolates and fake perfumed lilies, there were newspapers lying neatly beside it and a menu. 'Well this is different, it almost feels like visiting a restaurant' she thought as the attendant placed her backpack in the overhead compartment and showed her the facilities and luxuries that her ticket bought her. This was definitely different from the last time she travelled by plane. She smiled softly as she remembered that time...

...a time when she didn't know what she was getting into, yet eager to obey her mother's wish, a time when she was young, her first time on a plane, when she was merely a child, 7years old, 4 feet 2 inches tall (which she took pride in as she was taller than most people her age), nervously tracing the patterns on her locket and worrying if the charm her mother placed would work. Fidgeting with her hair and trying to smile as the officer at the security checkpoint looked at her passport.

At last the Frenchman smiled at her and said "bien vous pouvez aller, Mlle. Arianna Oralia Thomas"


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey everyone, I am soooo glad I got 8 views. Although no reviews have been posted yet (Is it too early for reviews? IDK), all reviews would be welcome (including constructive criticism), because I strongly believe everyone has a right to their own opinions. I know my writing style is not refined, but I really do love the plot of this story. It has lots of secrets, (Virtual cookie to anyone who guesses the secrets from the hints I am leaving)_

_Disclaimer: All of the characters and Cannon scenes belong to J. K. Rowling, except My OCs. Any resemblance to any fictional or non-fictional character is purely coincidental._

Chapter 2: Arianne introduction:

Hello everyone, I am Arianne Oralia Thomas, I have many nicknames like Ann, Annie, Ari, Ria, and my favorite Lia (mother calls me lia), born on 26th September 1979,Iam 4 years old, though mother says I have the mental age of a 9 year old. She is the most awesome mother in the whole wide world.

I know Latin, French, and English; Right now I am learning Ancient runes and arithmancy. Mother says it's necessary to learn. I am to train for something, Even i don't know what exactly, and learn everything I can. I love reading though, and learning new things, so I don't mind all this training and learning. We live in a small village just at the edge of a forest in France, with a population of 56 people, 57 if you count baby John, my friend Elliot's new baby brother who, mum says, will get born today. You see, my mother Maricel Rossa Thomas is special. She is a witch and a true seer. This is our secret, which mother made me promise never to reveal to anyone (not even my friend Elliot). I am a witch too, and don't even think of saying _witch_ is a bad word, it's a good word, because my mother is a good person. As the village doctor and teacher she helps anyone who needs help with anything.

I love my village which is called Le' ciel, true to its name is a very peaceful, merry place which reminds you of heaven on earth. Everyone lives like a big family. Every day, I wake up early in the morning, Bathe, get ready, eat breakfast and go to school, which is held under the great oak tree, in front of the small building which is our town hospital. Elliot's uncle Sean teaches us French for an hour, then mother teaches us Mathematics (Counting, addition, etc.,), after which we all get to play all morning. There is me, Elliot, John, Franc, and little Gabrielle who come to school. Every afternoon one or the other family brings cheese, bread, and some variety of fruit. All of us ate together and then we could go home. My house was just besides the hospital building, and partially hidden by trees, and hidden here not visible to anyone except my mother and me, is a large shed where mother and I practice magic or wandless magic to be precise.

Wandless magic may seem difficult if you try to master it after you learn magic with a wand and sometimes difficult even if you learn it from childhood, but my mother and I come from an ancient bloodline that has been practicing wandless magic for centuries. Magic is always easy for me, almost like making a wish, but in Latin. Ancient Latin is my mother tongue. But mother always says, with great power comes great responsibility. She says love is the greatest magic. She must know, because she is a true seer as i told u, she sees these visions or prophecies, that always come true, no matter what you do to try to avoid it. I have a few special tricks up my sleeve too, one of them is my memory, I have a photographic memory, I remember everything that happened in my life. Well, not everything, I don't remember anything about my father. My mother rarely speaks about him. All she says is I will meet him one day when I am ready. Some days, I sit under the oak tree near my house, trying to remember my father; I remember everything in my life…

I remember my mother holds me in her arms and sings a soft lullaby to me, tells me how beautiful I look. "Lia, my darling, you are the most beautiful girl in the world, So Regal, just like your father. You have your father's nose, and his smile. Oh my darling Lia! How I wish your father was here to see his lovely daughter". I remember her eyes full of tears whenever she spoke of my father.

I remember the day death eaters invaded our old village; it was the last community of witches and wizards, who practiced wandless magic. My mother had a vision of this just a few hours before the attack, and pleaded with our Elders to save our people. The elders thought my mother was trying to mislead the people in the village and refused to help her. She then went to each and every house, knocked each and every door, but nobody gave heed. The elders had made a deal with someone named Voldemort who was the leader of the death eaters (weird name if you ask me), and he said he would leave our village in peace because it consisted of the purest, most ancient bloodlines in the history of magic. Nobody was worried about my mother's vision.

I remember when, with just under an hour to spare, my mother packed all our belongings into her Magic bag (believe me, it's no joking matter to pack a whole house full of belongings , a huge house in that, into one small bag in a bit more than half-an-hour. Mother said she will teach me how to make one when i grow older), then by the time we could walk to the edge of our magical boundary, the death-eaters were upon our village. My mother turned to look back at our village and the sight makes me scared even to this day. Our whole village looked like giant firewood stove. Almost all rooftops were on fire. Some of the people were running trying to get to the borders, but the masked people struck them down before they could walk a few steps. Many others were just waking up from their sleeps, finding their house on fire, It makes me cry to think of all those people, waking up to their burning demise. My mother hid on top of a huge bushy tree and watched the masked people hurt so many. Then it was silent, no pleas for mercy, no screaming for help, no maniacal laughter. Just painful silence!

I remember mother waiting silently in the terrifying silence, Mother cast some charms on me, placed me securely on that tree along with her magical bag, kissed my head and whispered "Mommy loves you Lia, Always remember that. Just in case the danger has not passed, I know you will remember me, this moment, loving someone is the greatest magic ever. Be good and be safe my dear Arianne" Then she called out a bit louder "Minty!" A small person wearing green robes the size of a Dress shirt, appeared out of thin air, As soon as she saw mother, Minty squealed and hugged her, then noticing the destruction around us she became silent, her big eyes were filled with sadness. That's when she noticed me, and gasped softly, "Is th…this?" Minty questioned, to which my mother nodded yes and said "Take care of my baby Lia for me, while I go and check to see if there are any who can be saved. If I do not come back before morning, take her to your master and tell him he will find the proof he requires in the bag. Promise me Minty! Promise me you will do this for me!". Minty nodded with tears in her eyes and said "of course mistress! Minty takes good care of baby Lia. Minty promises. Minty missed you mistress Rossa", "I missed you too minty". With that, mother leapt from the tree and entered the border of our once beautiful village once more, searching, I think, for any survivors. After what seemed like a long long time, she came back with a man floating before her, and shouted for Minty to help her with the only survivor she could find. Mother laid the man on a makeshift bed she made, and started healing the man, desperately trying to save him. With a loud gasp the man opened his eyes, and with short, raspy breaths he tried to hold onto his life. Mother frantically tried to save him, muttering spells under her breath, but with a few final words "we should have believed", he breathed his final breath.

I remember mother and minty burying the man near his house. That whole night, with me tied safely to her waist, mother spent making grave markers in front of each house, writing out the names of all who lived in that house. Minty brought armful of flowers from outside the border to lay by each house. At last, as the sun was rising, they finished the last marker. Mother placed charms around the village, to once again protect it from muggles. Not from masked evil men, or from any evil force, because you see, there was nobody left in the village to protect. All of them were gone. All that remained was blackened remains of houses, the sad ruins of our home.

I remember Misty pleading with my mother to return with her. But mother refused and made her promise never to speak of us or of what happened last night to her master or anyone. With a sad sigh, Misty hugged my mother and me, and disappeared into thin air with a 'crack' noise. After that my mother apparated us to the village we now call Le' ciel. The people welcomed us with open arms, into their village and also into their hearts. I may not know my father, or have relatives, but I have a family. A family with 57 people, my village, Le' ciel,

_My second chapter! How is it? Yayy or nay? Please comment and let me know. Once again, this is my first ever fanfiction. So please review. Favorite it if you like the story and want to read more chapters as I write them._

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	3. Chapter 3

_Hey everyone, my 3__rd__ chapter! Pls review! This is my first fanfiction story and any review would be welcome (including constructive criticism), because I strongly believe everyone has a right to their own opinions. I know my writing style is not refined, but I really do love the plot of this story. It has lots of secrets, (Virtual cookie to anyone who guesses the secrets from the hints I am leaving)_

_Disclaimer: All of the characters and Cannon scenes belong to J. K. Rowling, except My OCs. Any resemblance to any fictional or non-fictional character is purely coincidental._

Chapter 3

Today as soon as i wake up, i jump up on my small bed and do a happy dance because it's my 7th birthday. Mom comes in and laughs and joins me, singing some silly song. After that, I go and brush my teeth, take a bath , and eat breakfast. After that, mom and I sit on the couch and she gives me my gifts. She got me a beautiful aqua green dress that came to my knees and the bodice was dark grey with blue embroidery. It was the most amazing dress in the whole world. She also gave me a grey and black cloak. Then she gave me a big rectangular box which had a beautiful silver necklace set with sapphires and matching earrings, it also had a few charms for my charm bracelet. I gave mom a big hug, she took out something from her pocket and said "Lia, I have one more gift for you, this was your Grand'Mere's, she gave this to me, now am giving it to you. It has been in our family since a very long time" fastening around my neck a silver chain, with a round locket which had a phoenix carved around a large emerald on one side. As soon as it touched my skin it glowed faintly and a design of a shield appeared on the other side of the locket.

I looked at the locket in awe, and i think i heard my mom say "Shield, Ah! My baby girl! You really are different, powerful!"

But when I asked her what she meant by me being different, she gasped in surprise and said, "I know for sure that I didn't say that out loud. Why Lia, I believe you are a natural Legilimens. Have you been practicing it? We haven't even started studying about it. But be careful darling, it's not polite to misuse such a gift". I asked what Legilimens was and she explained to me that it is the art of reading someone's mind, "You are different Lia, I don't know the meaning of the shield appearing on that locket, but I do know that it means you are powerful. Be careful to whom you reveal your secrets. I will try to find out the meaning of it. I think I heard something about a prophecy regarding a shield, but am not sure. Till then, be careful darling."

After I put away all my gifts, except my chain which was now around my neck, in my room, I went to play with my best friends Eli and Gabby. We played all day near the forest, running around chasing each other, climbing trees, and also playing hide-and-go-seek. We were exhausted by the time the sun was setting and went to my house. Elliot's parents, Uncle Sean, and Gaby's parents were already there. As soon as we all entered, they brought out the cake. I cut the cake; they all sang a birthday song for me. Elliot's parents, aunt Jane (Janette) and Uncle Eddy (Edmond) bought me black shoes and gloves. Uncle Sean gave me Chinese, Greek, and Spanish language books, a fairy tales book, and a journal. Gaby's parents got me a beautiful Blue hat to match the dress mom gave, and Gabby, Little John and Elli made me a birthday card. All of us children ate big slices of cake. After dinner Gabby left with her parents, and Elli's brother John fell asleep on Uncle Sean's shoulder. Mom and Aunt Jane were cleaning up with uncle Eddy's help and Elliot says she has a gift for me, and gives me a bracelet, on it are beads spelling out our names, she said aunt Jane helped her make it. "I love it Elli, it's so pretty" I say hugging her and we both start crying because her family was going off to Britain in 2 weeks. We promise to always write to each other wherever we are.

I don't remember falling asleep, but the next day I wake up in my room, hearing a loud crash from somewhere in the house. I rush to see what is wrong. It's still a bit dark outside so it's really early in the morning. As I walk into the kitchen, I see mom standing there with a broken bowl at her feet, her eyes glazed over as if she is having a vision of the future. I try calling her but she doesn't move. The expression on her face frightens me so I try to use legilimens on mom, although I know it's wrong, because whenever mom has a vision, if I call her, she notices. I concentrate on knowing the vision she is having, and I see something, its blurry at first, but finally I can see clearly what mom's seeing.

_Vision:_

_Mom is sitting at the kitchen counter, a letter in her hand, It reads: "Rossa Esmeralda, I see you go by Maricel Thomas nowadays, did you think I won't be able to find you if you changed your last name? Come and meet me at the old well in the forest within 48 hours. Otherwise your lovely Le' ciel will become another graveyard just like your mother's house and your old village. I have hunted so many years for you and this time you cannot escape. Signed- FG" Then I see mom going into forest, near the old well where man with a scary face with lots of scars is waiting. He laughs at her and says "Esmeralda I have been waiting for this moment for so long. At last the one who escaped me all these years dies in my hands. Pity you don't have a family to mourn for you. Oh that's right, I killed them all didn't I?" and he jumps on mom with his huge pointy teeth at ready, I see blood and everything becomes red, and then black._

_Vision ends._

Mom gasps, and her face was as pale as cotton, then clutches her heart and sobs. I call out to her, and when she notices me, she rushes up to me, takes me into her arms and starts crying and after a while starts rocking back and forth, but when I ask her who the scary man in her vision is, she wipes her tears, and patting my head, says "don't you worry mon petit. I will take care of that problem. You will be ok, we will be ok Lia. Now why don't you start reading that new charms book I got you, I have some work in the hospital. I will be back by evening. Remember to eat something, and don't practice any spells till I return", she kissed my forehead and went out. I was scared beyond anything, but I sat down at the desk in my room, and opened the charm book trying to see if there was any spell that will help mom escape from that man.

Late in the evening, mom returns home carrying a bulky envelope which she puts away in her room, and starts making dinner. The next day, she takes me to the market and buys me lots of new dresses and a few gloves, shoes, Hats and other accessories. After returning home, we started practicing spells and learning some defensive spells. For the next week, our schedule consisted of waking up, eating, reading from books, and practicing spells, and going to sleep exhausted.

All through the training, I kept wondering why mom was acting different, and why the intensive training, out of the blue. One day I asked her this question, She was hesitant at first, but as I kept pressing her for an answer, she answered "The man you saw in my vision is a very evil man Lia, he killed your grandmother and aunt, but I escaped from him and he has been hunting for me from then, and this time i know he will kill me. So you are leaving with Uncle Eddy and Aunt Jane. They will take you to Britain next week. The day after you reach, someone will come to take you to your father. He and his family are wizards and witches as well, but unlike us they use only wands. You will also go to school once you are of age. Be careful that when you stay with them, never to forget to do what is right, be brave and don't forget the power of love. Also remember that with power also comes responsibility, never betray your friends but most importantly, never betray your conscience. Even if you stay in midst of the most evil people, never let it taint your heart my dear. Will you promise to do this my dear?" Against all my protests, she was adamant that her death is certain. I didn't want to leave her. Although all my life, I wondered about my father, I didn't want that wish at such a price.

Angry at her for sending me away, and at whatever forces run the universe, I stormed out of the training shed and sat at the window in my room. I let my tears fall freely, this can't be happening, I love my mom and am as stubborn as her I will not leave. I tried to think how to get out of this trouble. I can't believe she is shipping me off to Britain. All of a sudden, I remembered one incident when I was 5, I was crying because I got lost in the forest while playing, and it took hours before mom found me, that day, she promised that whatever the situation she will never let us be separated, that she will try with everything she has to make sure we are together and safe. She promised if such a day should come, I should know that she has exhausted every solution. This made me realize that my mom who loved me more than anything, and never broke her promise come what may, who was so much more intelligent than me and knew far more spells than me, might have tried to solve this problem without sending me away. I was ashamed of myself for adding to my mother's grief. I rushed out of my room to find mom clutching a picture of mine and crying. Iran to her and hugged her, promising to follow her wishes and go to Britain and be on my best behavior, for her. That day mom and I spent most of the night talking and her telling me stories about Grandmother and Aunt Es. The next few days passed by with us training and then talking all night long and such. Finally, 2 days before I was to leave with Elli to Britain, Mom and I started packing up my stuff. Mom put all my muggle clothes, books and such tuff into a big bag, and then she put all her magical books collection, any potions we had at home (Which she labeled and wrote instructions on), her flying broom, my jewelry and other magical knickknacks that she thought I would need.

After packing, we spent the rest of the day clearing all traces of magic from the house. Then mom gave me a bulky envelope (The same one she brought home the day she had that vision) which contained papers that I had to show the officers at the airport, and some muggle money, just in case of emergencies. She also gave me another package which she asked me to give father when I meet him.

Our final day together, I spent on the living room couch, hugging my mom tightly, listening to her sing. She would keep stopping randomly to tell me to remember her as a brave happy woman, to stay strong, or reminding me some silly day in our lives. I didn't sleep that day, neither did mom. We didn't want the next day to come, but as they say: Time passes by quickly when you want it to slow down. The next day came, early in the morning, I got dressed in some comfortable clothes, with mothers chain around my neck from which the phoenix shield locket and mom's ring hung. I wore my charm bracelet, slung the magic bag ( a magical undetectable extension charm which mom taught me) containing all my magic things, then putting on my travelling cloak, I stood at my door, looking for the last time ever at my mother (She didn't want to come to the airport, said she wouldn't be able to let me go, but also maybe because she received that letter the other day). She waved at me from the front door till our car left sight. At the airport, I stood in line along with Elli, and john, and Aunt Jane, When it was my turn, I handed the tall and stern looking officer sitting behind a desk my papers and passport, and stood there nervously tracing the patterns on my locket, worrying if the charm mom placed on my papers and passport would work. I stood fidgeting with my hair and trying to smile as the officer at the security checkpoint looked at my passport. At last the Frenchman smiled at her and said "bien vous pouvez aller, Mlle. Arianna Oralia Thomas".

_So, hope you liked the chapter. Eeeep! Arianne is goingto meet her father! Hmmm.. wonder who he is?_

_Read on to find out. Will be updating the next chapter soon!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey , so I got a few messages saying my story was crap and not worth reading, I didnt feel like writing the story anymore, but from encouragement from my friend, I decided to write two or three more chapters, maybe then It will get interesting? IDK! If after 3 more chapters you still feel that this story is bad, then I will take it down? I don't want to give up on this story so early. I kind of like its plot. So here it goes. And please tell me what you think of this story._

_Disclaimer: All characters (except my OCs) belong to J. ._

_Almost my entire story is in Arianne's POV, if otherwise, I will specify._

**Chapter 4 –MEETING FAMILY? :**

I arrived in London that evening, hired two taxi cars to fit our entire luggage and went to Elli's new home in surrey. It was a pretty cottage near Surrey, with a small garden out front, three bedrooms and a small dining room/parlor. Uncle Eddy and Aunt Jane were in the white and red master bedroom; Uncle Sean and little John were sharing a grey and green bedroom which had bunk beds. I was staying in Elli's room, which was a cute baby pink and white. While Uncle Sean and Uncle Eddy brought all our bags inside and went out to shop for food, Aunt Jane made us kids take a bath, change into clean clothes while she started setting up the kitchen for cooking. In a few hours the kitchen looked perfect, and we were helping her put away things, when Uncle Sean & Eddy returned loaded with groceries. They let us kids, explore the house and play, whilst dinner was cooking, so John and Elliot started running around the house playing tag.

I went into Elli's room and collapsed on the floor crying my heart out, letting all the unshed tears flow. The only thing I could think about was that she may be dead by now. That man might have killed her. What kind of a person was I? Going off to live in London, when she was getting killed by a horrible man? I wish I could go back, to protect her. She has been there for me always. My teacher, my Trainer, my friend, my confidante, my mother and my world. I missed her and I couldn't do anything about it but cry, and that is exactly what I did, I cried for hours and hours, till I couldn't cry any more. Later Aunt Jane came to call us to dinner and saw me in this state, So she brought and fed me some food and put me in bed, where I cried some more and fell asleep.

That night I dreamed I was in a grand house, with many beautiful decorations, there, my mother stood, dressed in the most beautiful pale pink dress, along with another woman who appeared to be very elegant, almost like a queen. I ran up to my mom and hugged her and started crying. Mom hugged me back and started petting my head and said "Lia my darling, mon petit', don't cry. Shhh! It's all going to be alright. I will always be with you, in your heart, I am alive. Hush darling, I love you."

I knew this was a dream, but I felt relieved sitting near mom, hugging her. I asked her never to leave me. Suddenly the elegant woman cleared her throat and looked at mom, mom started talking to me hurriedly, she wanted me to take care of myself, and she said I had to be careful when I stay with my father, never reveal to them that I am anything different. The people that their family associated with were dangerous people, who sought power, who wanted to destroy muggles. She told me these people were power hungry, and that I would grow up to become a powerful witch. She said she was sent to me to warn me to choose the side I was on carefully as that would set the course for how the future played out." Look into people's hearts before you judge them or trust them Lia. Remember what I told you, choosing the light does not mean you abandon those who are in the dark. Rather, it means bringing those whom you love to the light, however deep they may be trapped in the dark. I know you will fulfill the prophecy mon trognon. I need to leave darling, my time with you is coming to end. Arianne, come child meet the woman you were named after, Arianne Jean Esmeralda, your grandmother." She said, leading me to the elegant woman, who bent down and hugged me. I had always heard mom tell me about my grandmother, her beauty, grace and compassion. She was more beautiful than mom described her to be. She looked not a day older than 30, with the loveliest face, honey brown eyes, Brown wavy hair that was tied up in a flower bun. She wore a bright yellowish gold dress, which made her appear even more like a queen.

"Arianne Oralia, I am so glad I meet my granddaughter at last. My! You look very pretty, just like your mother and aunt. You have a pure heart my child, and a great destiny. Your mother and I will be looking out for you. This ring is my birthday present to you. We must leave now, be at peace, stay strong and enjoy life ma fifille." And then, they left in a blink, and I woke up with a start and wondered about the dream I had. I thought it was a dream, till I saw the red and blue stone ring on my finger. So this wasn't a dream? Mother and grandmother were here to see me? But Grandmere was dead a long while before I was born. Does that mean, mother is d… dead? Thinking this made me want to cry, but I remembered mom asked me to stay strong. I will stay strong, I will remember the happy memories of mom nothing else. Mother seemed so happy, beautiful and radiant now unlike when she was worried about that vision. She was safe with grandmere. She is here in my heart, and is looking over me. She wouldn't want me to cry and be sad. I will be a brave and good girl for her." And fell asleep peacefully after many sleepless nights.

The next day the bigger luggage like furniture arrived and we started unpacking and arranging things in the cottage. While uncle Sean, Uncle Eddy and aunt Jane lifted, pushed and arranged the bigger things like tables, beds, and cupboards, Elli and I helped with the smaller stuff like sweeping, dusting, and moving smaller things like chairs. Later in the week Elli and I helped Aunt Jane with the small garden at the front of the house, de-weeding and clearing it so we could start planting new seeds. The day after we finished clearing the garden, we went to the market to look for saplings and seeds. We selected a nice variety of flower saplings and seeds, and vegetable seeds and got home and started planting them.

The next day, Elli and me were watering the plants, when a big black car, with black tinted windows stopped in front of the cottage. A tall man with long black hair, pale skin, wearing a Black coat, black trousers, black shirt and a serious expression got down from the car and approaches us and looking directly at me (curiously) says "I assume one you young ladies is Ms. Arianne Oralia Thomas?" and Elli points at me and runs inside to call Aunt Jane. Before Aunt Jane comes, I go up to him and ask him if he is my father. He looks at me gravely and says he is not my father, but is here to take me to him. Before I could ask him who he is, Aunt Jane comes out the front door, introduces herself and gestures for me to go inside. I went inside, and seeing Elli already at the window, I go up to her and we both tried to see the strange man talking to Aunt Jane. After discussing for a while, the man takes out some papers from his coat pocket and showed them to Aunt Jane, which she read carefully. Finally she welcomed the man inside the house, and told me that he was here to take me to my father, and asked me to get ready and asked Ell to help me pack my stuff.

We rushed upstairs and started putting all my clothes back into my travel bags. The bag, which mother gave me for my birthday was as usual already across my shoulders, as I never took off that bag, except for when I was sleeping. Even then it was tucked safely under my pillow. We dragged the travel bag all the way to the top of the stairs, when Elli and I hugged, knowing we may not see each other as often. Ell started sobbing and hugged me tighter, and then we dragged my bag to the door where the black haired man was standing. He took the bag from me and said he will give me a few moments with my friends and went to wait beside the car. Aunt Jane wished me good luck with my life, hugged me and asked me to be a good girl. After hugging Ell for one last time, I went and sat in the car and waved to them till we were out of sight.

The journey seemed to take a while, taking us from surrey, through streets with neat rows of bigger buildings through more scenic places in London and then, through streets with much bigger buildings which appeared more like mini castles. I was curious and asked the man beside me "where are we going? Does my father live in a mini castle? What is your name? When will we reach?" he looked at me with the same serious expression and told me that his name is Severus Snape, he is a family friend, we were going to my father's house, which will take us at least 20 minutes more to reach. I nodded and returned to looking out of the window again. Severus Snape seemed strange to me, he never even smiled at me, but I remembered what mom told me in my dream and many times during my childhood and decided I wouldn't judge him as a bad man in just one meeting. While I was thinking all this, I didn't even notice when we stopped, but we were there in front of the biggest, grandest building I had ever seen till my car door was opened and Mr. Severus snape helped me get out of the car. We stepped into the house, into a long room, with green and silver decorations. Each and every room I saw looked expensively decorated yet elegant. Mr. Snape asked me to wait in a huge room with several green velvet couches while he informed my father that I arrived.

While I was waiting there, I started looking around the room with the walls painted a dark green(almost looked like black) color on which hung magical pictures and portraits. The room decorated in green, silver and black color pattern. A ginormous chandelier hung above the room. As I was inspecting a room, I bumped into someone, "OW!" and we both fell to the floor. I look up to see a tall, dark skinned boy around my age, He was fuming that I bumped into him and started shouting. Although I apologized, he was still angry and I didn't know what to say. Seeing me on the verge of tears, the boy came up to me, and said it was ok and asked me my name and what I was doing here. I introduced myself and he introduced himself as" Blaise Zabini"

_So that was chapter four, where shemeets the potions professor and Blaise, what happens next? Read on to find out._


	5. Chapter 5

Yayyyy for my first reviewer Suganya! Thank And also I got more than 100 views! OMG!

So without further ado, here's the next chapter for you!

Disclaimer: All characters and the HP world (Except my OCs and my story line) belong to J.K. Rowling.

…"Blaise Zabini"

I smile and introduce myself "Arianne Thomas". He doesn't smile back; instead he just nods and walks over to where my bags are and looks at them, turns and says "Who is this?" I thought he is asking me until I notice he is looking at something/someone behind. I turn to look and see that someone is another boy, around my age, with blonde hair that was slicked back with gel, with grey eyes that had a glint of mischief and his face looked so cute and happy, that I couldn't help smiling myself. He walks over to me and shakes my hand and introduces himself "Hello. I am Draco. What is your name?" I quickly introduce myself as Arianne. "Arianne? Can I call u Ari?" I nod. With a big grin on his face, he invites me to play with him.

"Not now Draco, why don't we go to the library and you and Blaise can finish your essay which I assigned you" Mr. Severus said. 'When did he come into the room. I didn't even notice', He took Draco and Blaise out of the room, just as four people, one woman and three men, entered the room. 'Is one of them my father?' I thought. One man had black hair which was straight and almost reached his shoulders, He had brown eyes that were inspecting, scrutinizing everything in the room, after which he started looking at me as if trying to figure out everything he could about me and he had a stick in his hand, which I suppose is a wand and was standing tensely as if ready to hurt me if I made one wrong move. The other man had Blonde hair like Draco's, in fact; he looked exactly like Draco, but older and taller and without the happiness. He was very serious looking, more than any man I ever saw, even Mr. Severus. He looked at me disapprovingly, and his glare made me cower into the wall even more and made me feel as if I had done something despicable. The last man was a bit older than the other two men, He had white/blonde hair, which reached well past his shoulders and was pulled back and slicked. He had kind grey eyes, and he gave me a small hopeful smile. He walked with a slight limp which was almost unnoticeable if you didn't look closely as he walked using a walking cane (although he wasn't as old as to use one). Then lastly the woman entered, she looked very pretty, she had long black hair, and wore a green dress which looked like it was made for a princess, she had no expression whatsoever on her face, neither kind nor angry. Her hair was braided intricately and there was a beautiful green clip in her hair. She held her hands tightly in front of her and walked very gracefully almost like gliding through air.

They approached where I was standing and asked me to sit down. They all sat down on the couch in front of my chair, except the man with black hair, who stood behind their couch. The older man was about to say something, when the other blonde man interrupts him and introduces himself as Lucius Malfoy, "Ms. Thomas, we received the letter your mother sent, and sent for you as soon as we could. Now your mother said she would be sending another letter with you, do you have it with you?" he asked. I nodded and took out the envelope mother gave me and held it out for the black haired man, who took it hesitantly and started doing some spells on it with his wand. He then took it and gave it to Lucius Malfoy, who instantly opened the envelope, which contained a letter and a few magical photos, and a locket, mother's locket that she never took off. The older man took the contents of the envelope, and he and Mr. Lucius started reading the letter. Once they were finished reading, they passed the letter to the other man, who once again put some spells on the letter and photographs, nodded at the others and passed them back to Mr. Lucius.

Although nervous, I gathered up the courage and asked him "Are you my father Monsieur Lucius?" He looked at me with the same disapproving look and said "No Ms. Thomas, I am most definitely not your father". "And it's Mr. Malfoy, not Mr. Lucius! Would have thought your 'mother' would have taught you at least how to address people" He spat. I shuddered and looked down at my hands which I was clutching tightly together in my lap, I was angry at him for speaking so about mom, but I was also very afraid of him.

"Now Ms. Thomas, Stand up and stand right here" Mr. Lu…Mr. Malfoy said, pointing to the middle of the room, "Don't worry child! Mr. Zmeyj here just has to run some tests to make sure what you and your mother are claiming, is in fact true." said the woman sternly, but I could detect just a hint of concern in her voice. But her face was back to being expressionless when I lifted my head to see if she really was concerned for me. Then although I was nervous and scared inside, I put on a brave face for mom and marched up to where Mr. Malfoy pointed and stood there with my head held high and waited for whatever tests Mr. Zmechj…something had to perform. Then the black haired man who apparently is Mr. Zmechj approached me, and pointing his wand at me, muttered some spells that I didn't recognize. Then a yellowish light came from his wand and hovered for a moment in the air, then it swirled around the room and the another light which was a bright pink shot out of his wand and hovered over my head before it faded, at which the three onlookers gasped, then another bluish light came out if the wand, which swirled around me and came to rest over someone's head.

The light hovered above the older man's head, which made everyone in the room release their breaths which they didn't realize they were holding in. The older man gave a sigh of relief, Mr. Malfoy gave a snort of indifference, and the Lady gave me a small smile. And I realized that maybe that man was my father.

Then Mr. Zmechj turned to Mr. Malfoy and made a slight bow, and said "It appears everything is in order Mr. Malfoy, I shall take my leave now" and turned and left the room.

"Well Narcissa, It appears she really is his daughter, now take her into the guest room, while her room is being prepared. I am leaving you the responsibility to tame her, don't know if she even knows any etiquette or manners and we can't have her spoil her father's reputation now, can we? Who knows what else her mother didn't teach her." He says and turns to me, nods and says "Hope you don't prove to be an embarrassment to either of us Arianne" and leaves the room. 'I don't know what his problem is, but at least my mother taught me not to be rude to people' I think and turn to my father, hoping to speak with him.

No such luck, as Narcissa puts a hand on my shoulder, and smiles apologetically and said "Not now Arianne, You will have an audience with your father soon, but you must get changed and settled into your room. Right now he has to go out with my husband Lucius on some business, but after dinner your father will speak with you." She said. As if on cue, my father rose, patted me on my head and left the room. Then Mrs. Malfoy led me out of the living room, and towards the stairs telling me an elf will get my belongings to my room when I was trying to lift them. We climbed to the first floor, which had long passageways to either side of its spacious landing. Each passageway had at least six rooms on either side. We took the left passageway and stopped in front of the fourth room on the right. The doors were made of dark wood and were carved with beautiful flower designs. We entered into the guest room, which had a soft baby pink colored wallpaper, white ceiling and a cream colored soft carpet. It had a dresser and chair to one side with two doors at either side of it, and a huge bed, bigger than my mom's bed back home, with pink and black embroidered beddings. All the furniture was dark brown almost black shade of wood. Mrs. Malfoy pointed out the two doors and said that the one on the right was a closet to put my clothes in, and the one on the left was the bathroom, she waved her wand and a black and purple dress, along with a black chain and shoes appeared on the bed, which were about my size. "The house elves will put your belongings in the closet. Why don't you take a bath, and put on these clothes. I will come back in around an hour or so, to let you settle in. Then maybe we can walk a while in the gardens?" she said. "Yes Mrs. Malfoy, Thank you." I replied, to which, "You don't have to call me that child, you can call me Narcissa. Now I think Dizy has already drawn hot water for you. I will leave you to get ready." She said and left after giving me a hug and kissing my cheek. She wasn't as bad as Lucius Malfoy I thought, and went to the bathroom to take a bath. Putting my bag (Which was always with me) on the small table like thing which had towels on it, I saw the tub was already filled with warm water, and also had bubbles of all colors floating in the tub. 'YEAH! I love bubble baths!' I eased myself into the tub, and felt relaxed, after a long and nervous ordeal. I lay in the tub for a while and then washed myself, dried my hair using the spell mom taught me, then picking up my bag and wrapped myself in a big white, fluffy towel went to the bed and put on the dress Narcissa left for me. I looked at myself in the mirror on the dresser, and saw that my hair was messy. Looking around, I pointed my baggage already put near the closet door, I grabbed my comb out of it and started combing my hair, I put on my bracelet, chain and ring and checked to see if I looked presentable. Satisfied with my look, I went and sat by the window. I saw Draco and Blaise playing outside on the grounds. I wonder if I am related to Blaise. Was he my half-brother? And how could Lucius Malfoy be Draco's father? He was so arrogant and rude, whereas Draco was very sweet and kind. Maybe he was that way because of Narcissa. She seemed like a good person. I wondered why the Malfoys were here at Father's house. Didn't Narcissa say Mr. Malfoy and Father had some business they had to do? Hmm… so, maybe they were colleagues? I had so many questions and also I wish I could speak with my father. He seemed genuinely happy to meet me, and wasn't rude to me since when I met him.

I didn't notice how fast the time passed as I was deep in thought, till a knock on the door startled me, and I saw that it was already evening. Narcissa entered the room, "You look very beautiful Arianne, What are you doing by the window? Are you alright?" She asked. "Thank you, I am alright, didn't notice the time actually. I was just thinking." I said, she nodded sadly at me and asked me to join her on a walk. We walked to the stairs, and climbed down, and walked through the hall, across quite a few rooms and reached a set of doors which opened up to a garden. 'Aunt Jane would love this garden' was the first thought that crossed my mind as the garden was filled with thousands of flower plants arranged neatly on either side of a grass covered path, which opened to a hill which looked like the perfect place to enjoy picnics. We walked along this path and as we approached the hill, Narcissa waved her wand and made a blanket appear on the ground, on which she sat and gestured for me to sit as well. We sat there in peaceful silence for a while. Then Narcissa asked me about mother, and my life in France and school and such things. We chatted for a while, and as it was getting nearer to sunset, we walked into the house once again. We walked into a big dining room, which had a table so large that it could fit at least twenty people. However, there were only five chairs currently. Mr. Malfoy, Draco and my father were already there. Father was sitting at the head of the table and Draco sat on one side of him. Narcissa went to sit beside Draco. My father asked me to take the seat beside him, just as Lucius was about to pull out that chair and sit. I sat down beside father as Lucius silently glared at me. Then Father snapped his fingers and said "Dizy" and with a crack sound, a house elf appeared and bowed, "Serve dinner Dizy, NOW!" Mr. Malfoy snarled at him. Dizy bowed to us and disappeared, appearing seconds later with a large dish hovering in air before him, which he placed on the table, more CRACKs sounded and two more elves appeared with more dishes, which they put on the table, which was when I squealed and jumped up, and rushed to one of them and hugged her tightly. "MINTY, I remember you; you were the one who helped mother and I when our village was set on fire." I said still hugging her. She looked at me in wonder, then she kissed my cheek, "Minty is honored that Miss remembers her and minty is glad to see Miss. Is Ms. Thomas here as well Ms?" Minty asked, I sighed and said that mother was still at home. Minty nodded, and looking to my left, suddenly started cowering in fear, then she started banging her head to the wall repeatedly. "MINTY, STOP! WHY ARE YOU…WHATARE YOU DOING? MINTY! NO!" I shouted, but she kept banging her head, I looked back at everyone else, but nobody made a move to stop her. At last minty stopped, and went and kneeled beside my father's chair, "Minty is sorry for hugging and kissing Miss, Minty was just happy to see her, It has been more than five years since Minty saw Ms." She said, Father looked at her in surprise and said "Minty, If you knew where Maricel was, why didn't you tell me? You knew I was searching for her?", before Minty could answer, I defend her, saying mom asked Minty to promise not to tell anyone where we were. Father nods and says "If that is so, you are excused Minty". Minty bows before leaving the room. Then everyone starts eating dinner, there were so many dishes in front of me: Steak, Lamb chops, Roast chicken, carrots and peas, and gravy. I helped myself to a small slice of chicken, some carrots and peas, and poured a little gravy over it, and started eating them. I complimented Narcissa for the tasty food, to which Mr. Malfoy snorted. After finishing dinner, the dishes on the table disappeared and there was chocolate cake, and a big dish of pudding. Mr. Malfoy helped himself to a very large slice of cake and some pudding. After Dinner, Minty and another elf appeared to clear the plates, I waved to minty, to which Mr. Malfoy snorted and said "Just like your stupid mother, associating with low-lives, hugging common house elves, no manners. " I didn't like him talking that way about mom, and how could he call Minty low life? I was so angry that it started snowing in the room. I noticed this and quickly controlled my emotions, and rose to my feet about to give him a piece of my mind that, after a long day, when I came here without anyone I know, to meet my father who I didn't know if would accept me or not. My mother was dead because of some evil man, and not only did he act rude to me, he was even insulting my mother? How dare he? But, before I could utter a word, Father stood and in a very angry tone shouted at Mr. Malfoy "How dare you Insult my wife in my own house? I never said anything in the afternoon when you made fun of my daughter's manners, but this is going too far. NEVER, ever, insult my wife or daughter again". Although I was touched by the fact that my father was defending my mother and I (I still didn't understand why he left mother if he loved her), what Lucius Malfoy said after that shocked and surprised me.

"Really! You didn't even know you had a daughter till last month, and suddenly you are defending her? And how dare I insult you wife you say? What else do you expect me to do when you bring this blasted girl into the house and act as if nothing is wrong? What if her mother is using her to get money? What if your perfect little daughter is here only for her inheritance? Did you ever think of that….

And don't forget FATHER that this is MY house as well. And MY mother was your first wife, and that I am your son too! Just because I am silent about your escapades, doesn't mean I am alright with this, with you having a daughter who almost the same age as my son. I am ashamed to think that I have a half-sister who is almost my son's age. Just you wait till news about this gets out. Our reputation will be ruined. I will not have that happening. Do you even have any Idea of the consequences?"

_**Author Note: Yeah now you know who her father is! Arianne is actually Arianne Malfoy?**_

_**So what do you think of the story so far? **_

_**The next few chapters will be about how her relationship with the malfoys progress as she grows older. And do her morales and values stay intact or now that she is a Malfoy, will she grow up to be a spoiled brat?**_

_**After that comes HOGWARTS chapters!**_


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone, 225 views already!I am excited. But do let me know what you think of the story after reading.

Disclaimer: All characters (Except my OCs and storyline) belong to J.K Rowling..

Chapter 6: Lucius Malfoy::

I was shocked and surprised by this. Wait… this means Lucius is my brother? Oh My Merlin! Draco is my nephew. I stand there dumbstruck! This cannot be happening right now. I was tuned out of the rest of the conversation because I couldn't even understand if this really was happening to me, that is till Lucius rudely bumped into me while leaving the room. Narcissa Left hurriedly behind him, apologizing to me, and dragging Draco, who was staring at me wide-eyed, away along with her. Mr. Malfoy my father, gently pats my back and leads me to an adjoining room, which appears to be a smoking room. He sits down in a plush green chair and asks me to take a seat beside him, in a black chair. I sit down quietly, still not quite out of the shock. We sit there in silence, me waiting for him to explain all this madness, which he does.

"Arianne, I apologize for Lucius's behavior. He didn't really mean what he just said. The past few days have been a bit rough on him, and all of us. I am Abraxus Malfoy, your father. I wanted to have this conversation with you today morning, but Cissa wanted you to relax and settle in before anything. She said we shouldn't overwhelm you. I understand if you hate me for not being in your life, or for what Luc just said. But he had a reason. You see, Luc's mother died when he was very young, just a tad bit older than you. We were married because our parents decided it. I wanted Luc to have a mother figure in his life, So I went to Paris to ask my friend's widowed sister to come and stay with us as she was a spinster. That was where I met your mother. She was the kindest person I ever met, at that time she was working as a teacher in the village school. I courted her for a while and we both fell in love with each other. Although at first she didn't want to move to London, but eventually decided to . We got married that year and she moved here with me. She was and is the best thing that happened to me, this house and family in a long long while. Luc instantly warmed up to her, and she was very kind to him. It all changed in Luc's fifth year at school. He started making new friends, friends who became bad influences on him. I didn't approve of them but I didn't exactly say anything to him. He was my only child and I never said no to him. I now realize that it was wrong, but then, I spoiled him rotten, bought whatever he asked for, did whatever he wanted. Celia, your mother warned me and reasoned with me many times not to let him off the hook always, but I didn't listen. Anyway, his friends started being weirder and weirder. Rich yes, pure blooded-mostly, but not exactly good influences. They used to visit him here, stay here for summers, etc. Then when he was in his seventh year, he started getting more and more secretive, and having strange secret meetings with his "friends" almost every other week during holidays. That was when I started realizing that something was wrong. We, your mother and I, confronted him one day, when he said it was none of our business. My Luc had changed from the sweet boy who was always polite and on his best behavior.

When he married Cissa, we thought he was changing for the better, because we could see the old Lucius, the sweet well-mannered boy, although he still was friends with bad people, he was changing. He even apologized to me and your mother for being rude. He became close to us again. He still had his secret meetings every month, with new people coming always. Sometimes they would meet at another friend's house or somewhere. On one such night, just after one of his meetings, after we greeted his friends' goodnight, your mother was in our room, crying inconsolably. That night, she had terrible nightmares, and a few days later she left us all with just a small note that she couldn't stay here anymore, and she had to leave us and she loved me and Luc. She wished Luc and Cissa luck and love.

It was a hard blow to me and Luc as well. Your mother meant the world to me. And Luc was just sad that he lost a mother the second time, But he showed it by being cold towards everyone. He started shutting people out of his life, started going out with other women, he changed completely, and this time for the worse. You looked like your mom when we spoke in the morning. We were watching you from the study window when you came in, and you were walking and talking so gracefully, just like your mother and you have her face. You reminded us of Maricel, and Luc panicked, all the hurt he locked up all those years ago, came back suddenly. This is why he was rude right now.

This is not the only reason though. You know Lucius went out with many women even after being married to Cissa, and almost every year some woman shows up with a child claiming Lucius is the father, or such things. All of them were Lying ofcourse, and they tried very hard with different potions and spells to prove that the child is Lucius' , but fail. When we got the letter your mother sent us, I was ecstatic, and happy that I have a daughter, and that your mother is alive. But Luc thought it was just another random claim to the malfoy inheritance. When you walked into the manor, Cissa and I knew that you were really my Celia's and my daughter. You have her face and mouth, my eyes, nose and you are a perfect mix of the both of us. And when you smiled at Draco, I knew for sure you were really my daughter.

Luc needs some time and maybe some love and encouragement to heal his hurt emotions. I am not making excuses for him, but he is after all your brother. I understand if you need time to warm up to us, or even if you never like us, but know that I love you my daughter. I always, always wanted a daughter, and here you are. I am sorry I was not able to be there for you in your life, I didn't know. But now I am here for you. You may not want to call me father, so you can call me Abraxus if you want. I love you my child, and am happy that you are here."

I listened to everything he said and silently stood up and went and hugged him. My father was a good man, just like mom said. "I am sorry that mom had to drop this news on you so abruptly. I am happy to be here too. At first I thought Lucius was just an arrogant rich man, but mom told me never to judge someone prematurely. And now I know why he is the way he is, I will not let it bother me. I am so grateful that you took me in, even after mom left you without an explanation. All my life I wondered about you. Mom said I would meet you one day, And although I don't like the circumstances that lead upto this meeting, I am glad to finally meet you too Papa. I love you." I hugged him tightly. He laughed and said he was glad to hear me call him papa. Wished me good night and after making sure I found my room, he left.

I was so glad my father didn't hate me. I was glad he was a good man. Mom always used to say he was a good man. I know Lucius was angry because of his pent up anger and hurt when mom abandoned them, and I knew that the first and last thing I had to do was to fix that, to help him come out of this and maybe gain a brother. I slept that night wondering why mother leftthem in the first place..

AN:

Hey guys, I hope you like the story. If you did favorite it, and leave a comment about anything you liked or didn't like.

I have a reason for why Abraxus is her father (instead of the obvious choice =Lucius) , but you will know as we progress with the story. I tried to make Lucius into someone who made bad choices and was not just a rich spoilt man.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hey guys, I'm so excited that my story got so many views! Thanks for liking my story and thanks for the positive feedback. My writing is not consistently on time because I don't have a schedule for this story. I write as and when I am inspired. Pls bear with me. 3 3 3 **_

_**Without further ado, here's the next chapter.**_

_**Disclaimer: This story and all its characters (except my OCs and plotline) Belong to J. **_

**Chapter 7: Narcissa Malfoy**

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

I woke up to someone knocking repeatedly on my door, I sat up in the bed and said "come in" a bit grumpily, when a house elf came in looking up at me timidly and soon after entering bowed down and said in a stammering shivering voice "Dobby is very sorry for waking you up Ms. Malfoy, but Mistress has asked me to wake you up and tell you to get ready for breakfast. Dobby is really sorry Miss, Please forgive Dobby. Don't be mad at Dobby Miss" and he started banging his head on the chair beside my bed. I rushed out of my bed and went to Dobby to stop him from hitting his head. And as soon as he stopped I gave him a big hug and said "Oh Dobby! I am not angry with you for waking me up. Thank you very much for waking me up. Why were you hitting your head Dobby? Are you quite alright?" to which he replied with tears in his eyes "Miss is very kind. Dobby is a house elf. And has to punish himself when he makes his masters and mistresses angry". I hugged Dobby again and told him it wasn't his fault and that I just had a long day yesterday and was tired which was why I overslept. I didn't mean to be grumpy and if he really was supposed to listen to everything I say, then I asked him never to punish himself for my sake. I would never be angry with him. I then asked him to tell Narcissa I will be down in a few minutes. As soon as Dobby left, I rushed into the bathroom and finished my morning routine, then putting on a red and white dress, I rushed down to the dining hall thankfully without losing my way.

I was greeted by Narcissa and Draco, who were having their breakfast. The table was filled with a variety of breakfast options. I quickly sat down in a chair and served myself some toast and fruits and poured some milk into my glass. "Had a good sleep Arianne?" Narcissa asked me , with a pleasant smile on her face. I nodded to her and started diving into my fruit bowl. "You can call me Aria or Anne Narcissa, even you Draco " "Then I insist you call me Cissa darling" replied Cissa. "What are you going to do today Draco? Didn't you want to go to Blaise's house?" She said turning to Draco. At the mention of going to his friend's house he beamed and asked Cissa if he could take me along with him as well. "Maybe some other time dear, I and Anne have a lot of things to get done today" Cissa said. I didn't know we had any plans. As soon as Draco left (after trying his adorable pout to no avail), she turned to me "Anne dear, we are sisters by relation, but you are almost the same age as my son, and I always wanted a daughter. In-fact, Lucius, me and Father all expected a daughter when I was pregnant with Drake. Now that you are here, I get to spoil you with gifts, clothes and whatever you want. I already think of you as my own daughter. I hope you don't mind". I smiled at her "Of course not N… Cissa, I am glad that you are fond of me as a daughter. I did feel awkward calling you sister, because well, you know... " .

Narcissa Malfoy was a very classy woman, and although seemed arrogant, she was very loyal to ones she called her own. She also had an impeccable taste in fashion and the fact that scared me the most? -her absolute addiction to shopping. She was an extreme shopaholic. Although I have nothing against beautiful dresses or jewelry or for that matter shopping in general, she went totally overboard. She bought so many cloth materials. She picked out cloth of silks, few cottons, velvet, lace and ribbons of every color and shade under the sun. After she was satisfied, that it would be enough to fill my wardrobe; we went to Madame De 'la Viole. She took my measurements and asked us to collect our clothes in 2 days.

By the time we came out of the dress maker's, it was 3 in the afternoon. As soon as Cissa saw the time, she hurried me into the nearest restaurant for lunch, apologizing all the way to our seats- "I am so sorry Annie, I didn't think of stopping for lunch. I was so excited to shop for you, that at last I have a girl to dress up with pretty clothes, that it totally skipped my mind."

"It's alright Cissa, I was not hungry or else I would have asked you to stop for a while. Let's eat lunch now, and head home, shall we?" I asked, hoping that we didn't have to shop more. "Of course" she smiled as the waiter lead us to a table facing a small lake. "Mrs. Malfoy, Pleased to see you here. What can I get you and the young lady today?" He asked, looking me up and down as if wondering what I was doing, having lunch with The Narcissa Malfoy. Narcissa ordered us some chilled lemonade and sent him away. I noticed that the room was so silent, you could hear a feather drop to the ground. All eyes were on Cissa and me. As soon as he left, people started whispering animatedly to each other, often pointing at our table. Cissa waved her wand and instantly a kind of partition appeared around our table. Then turning to me, she assured me that people didn't mean anything by the looks and whispers, and it was common for people to analyze each and every detail in the lives of rich and famous people like the Malfoys, and spread rumors about it. "Just you wait till tomorrow; the newspapers will be filled with news about Mrs. Malfoy having Lunch with a young girl who may be her husband's mistress' illegitimate child, or that Mrs. Malfoy seen with a young girl who may be the future Mrs. Malfoy, or something along those lines, with exclusive interviews with the waiter who served them luncheon. Just ignore the looks and whispers and you should be good. Let them have their five minutes of fame. After that the rumor dies away and another arises. If anybody says or does something that bothers you, however insignificant it may seem, let me know immediately. I will deal with them".

I was so touched by Cissa's words that I was left speechless. The waiter appeared with our lemonades and took our orders; Cissa ordered some salad, and some scampi. I ordered a hamburger, chips and a child's portion of Shepard's pie. As soon as I ordered, the waiter looked at me as though I asked him to dance like an elf. "Hamburger and chips MADAM?" He smirked, Cissa cleared her throat and glared at the waiter and asked him to get the food we ordered, to which he simply nodded his head, bowed to Cissa slightly and left. _How can someone look down at people for what they eat? Did I do something wrong? Maybe I should have ordered what Cissa did. Now I embarrassed her too. Stupid foolish me!_

I came out of my reverie when I felt someone touch my hand, I looked up to see Cissa was beside me, She was looking at me worried. I looked down into my lap and said "I am sorry Cissa, I didn't know what to order. And I don't like sea food that much. I will not embarrass you from next time. Will you teach me what to order?" She gave me a sad smile, gathered me into her arms, and stroking my hair said "Darling, you didn't embarrass me, you can't let people put you down for the choice of food or clothes. You can order whatever you wish to eat. Do not cry for such a small matter. When I was young, my mother used to say that even what you order at a restaurant shows your class. I believed her. But now, I am telling you from experience, never let anyone put you down. It's ok to eat, wear and be what you want. People must respect you because of your character and attitude. Please don't cry my dear." "Thanks Cissa, you are amazing"

A few minutes after I wiped my tears, the waiter came in with our orders and placed them on our table. I said "Thank you" with a confident smile, which surprised the waiter. "No problem Ma'am" he said and left us to have our lunch. We ate to our stomach's full (At least I did) and left the restaurant. "Now Anne, before we go home, we have one last stop to make" Cissa said. She asked me to hold on to her arm tightly, and as soon as she turned in her place, I felt the familiar squeeze in my stomach when you apparate. The next second, we were standing in front of a magnificent shop, with window display of gold and diamond ornaments. We entered that shop, and Cissa went to the person behind the counter and they started having a silent conversation, after which the person went inside the store, and appeared with a small package securely tied with a ribbon. Cissa put this into her bag, and then gestured for me to follow her, she held out many jewelry pieces: Earrings, chains, bracelets and selected quite a few for me and also some for her, then after paying for our purchases, we left. As soon as we stepped out of the shop, she asked me to hold on to her hand, and we apparated back to the Malfoy Manor gate.

We were back just in time to freshen up and go to have dinner. Cissa put all the ribbons and jewelry she bought for me in my closet and asked me to put on a dress she picked out for me. I quickly took a bath and wore the dress Cissa picked out, and rushed downstairs to join father, Luc, Draco and Cissa for dinner. Thankfully I was seated as far away from Luc as possible. He didn't even look at me. Just wished father, Cissa and Draco and started digging into his plate. I wished everyone present (including Luc – to which he replied with a grunt and slight nod) and started digging in as well. "So Aria, Where did you and Cissa go off to today?" father asked, "I took her to get new clothes father" Cissa answered for me. "Did you have fun dear?" he asked "Yes father, although I am not used to shopping like Cissa, I got to spend time with her" At which, Luc snorted "Of course, nobody can ever shop like Cissa" He said laughing. I was astonished, and all of us looked at Luc strangely. Did he just laugh and share a joke with me? He didn't shout or be angry with me! Good Merlin! Suddenly, Luc realized he was just civil towards me, and amended his fault by adding "and I am sure someone like you will get used to spending someone else's money very quickly"

That was a low hit, even for Luc, and I knew he knew it and regretted saying it (it showed in his face) , but it didn't hurt any less. I was aware of the tears that started flowing, and quickly rushed out of the room. I ran to my room and collapsed on the floor crying. How can he still think I was after his or their money? Is that how everyone saw me? Maybe even father and Cissa thought so, but were too polite to say anything.

I couldn't stop crying. I was a mess.

Knock Knock!

Someone was knocking at the door; I ignored it and was lying on the floor.

**AN:**

**Hey that's all for this chapter. Just a chapter to show Narcissa's initial reactions, and interactions with Arianne. **

**Ne more thing, The secrets of Arianne are not quite over. There still are so many secrets and twists along the story.**

**Hope you stick with the story a while longer and read.**

**If you liked the story, like it and leave a comment. If you want to get updates when I write a new chapter, follow this story.**

**Okayy**

**Thanksss!**

**Love you guys!**


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys, in this chapter, Arianne's conversations will be in Bold Italic: _**"This is Arianne's conversation" **_

Disclaimer: All original characters and story belong to J. . I own just my story's plotline and OCs.

**Chapter 8**

"Wake up! Wake up!"

I was woken up by someone shaking me and shouting in my ear. I sat up hurriedly thinking it was an emergency, only to see Drake standing beside my bed smiling as if it was Christmas. _**"What is it Dra?"**_ "We got letters!" Draco said.

I huffed angrily and fell back onto my bed _**"You woke me up to say we got letters? Go away Drake. Let me sleep, and don't wake me up unless you have a better reason, say for example we GOT OUR LETTERS! OH MERLINWHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SO IN THE FIRST PLACE!"**_

I said suddenly realizing that by letters he meant THE LETTERS.

I was supposed to get my letter last year, but Luc and Cissa forgot they didn't add my name to the school list. But due to the never ending Malfoy money, we could enter my name for the next year instead, and, I get to attend the same year as Drake, so I am not complaining.

I shot right out of bed and ran to the dining room where I knew I would find the person I was looking for. She was standing with her back to me, looking at something on the table, taking this as a chance I slowly sneaked up to her and when I was just behind her, _**shouted "WE GOT THEM, WE GOT OUR LETTERS!"**_ to which she jumped dropping the spoons in her hand. "Oh Anne, you scared me. Yes I saw your letters in the mail. I guess celebrations are in order. How about you and I go shopping for your school wardrobe tomorrow?" _Oh no! Escape mode!_ _**"But Cissa, can't we go to Diagon Ally instead, and if I remember correctly, you promised me no more shopping for now. We just came back from Paris last week. Besides I want to visit Botty Madison's Shop in Italy tomorrow. Please!"**_

I all but begged her (not really begging, more like Pouting and Puppy eyes) to take me to Botty's instead.

"Merlin! Alright! I did say we could go to any shop you want. But can we at least go see the Goblin made jewelry in Italy while we are there?"

"_**Thank you, thank you Cissa. Of course we can go see jewelry. Let me go show the letter to Papa"**_ I said and went upstairs to Papa's room after giving Cissa a tight hug and a peck on her cheek.

"_**Papa"**_ I called knocking on the door once. "Come in". I went in to see Papa sitting at his desk, writing something in a black diary.

"_**Papa, I got my letter today, it's here. Do you want me to read it?**_" I asked. "Absolutely my dear Lia. Go on! Read what it says"

"_**Okay papa here goes, it's addressed to me: Ms. A. Thomas, The Purple Princess Bedroom, Malfoy Manor. It reads:**_

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**_

_**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**_

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

_**Dear Ms. Thomas,**_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**_

_**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Minerva McGonagall,**_

_**Deputy Headmistress**_

_**Wait, there's more:**_

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**_

_**UNIFORM**_

_**First-year students will require:**_

_**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)**_

_**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**_

_**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**_

_**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)**_

_**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**_

_**COURSE BOOKS**_

_**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**_

_**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)by Miranda Goshawk**_

_**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**_

_**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling**_

_**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch**_

_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**_

_**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**_

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**_

_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**_

_**OTHER EQUIPMENT**_

_**1 wand**_

_**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**_

_**1 set of glass or crystal phials**_

_**1 telescope set**_

_**1 brass scales**_

_**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**_

_**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.**_

_**That's all Pa. When can we go shop for my books Papa?"**_ I asked.

"Lia, I have to go to the Ministry today. How about you go to Diagon Alley with Cissa today, and I will come meet you there after I finish my work?"

"_**Sure papa, I love you." **_I said and left to have breakfast. All through breakfast I and Draco kept talking about Hogwarts. We were excited to get our wands, and Draco excited about trying to smuggle in a new broom.

"_**It's not going to work Draco. Even if you do smuggle in a broom, Do you intend to keep it locked away in your room? What will you say when people see a first year flying on a broom?"**_

Draco: "Oh come on Ari, Don't be a spoilsport, I will manage it somehow. And imagine how many people will be jealous of me when they know that a first year student has smuggled in a broom?"

"_**Huh! Whatever you say Drakey" **_

As soon as we finished breakfast, I rushed off to get dressed and we all left to Diagon Alley. Luc decided it would be a short trip if we divided into two groups and divided our lists (if you could call 2 people a group), so I apparated with Cissa, and Draco with Luc.

While Luc went to get our books, we dropped off Draco at Madam Malkin's and went to get our wands. I was as excited as any other 11yr old witch to get her wand, but I was also nervous because what if there was no wand for me? What if because I could do Wandless magic, I wouldn't be allowed to have a wand? These and many other questions were swirling in my mind as we stopped in front of a narrow and shabby shop. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair and thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling.

"Mrs. Malfoy! Good afternoon." Said a soft voice, a moment later an old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Mrs. Malfoy, Pleased to see you here. Here for your wand I suppose, let's see, which is your wand arm Ms. Malfoy?" He said, pulling a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. _**"My right hand Mr. Ollivander" **_I replied tensedly "We would also like to look at wands for my son Draco Malfoy, Mr. Ollivander" Cissa added. "Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured me from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round my head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mrs. Malfoy. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand. So I suggest young Mr. Malfoy to come here personally to pick his wand. Although you are welcome to choose for him if you must", to which Cissa said "Draco will come by with his father then". Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes. "That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Ms. Malfoy. Try this one. Maple and dragon heartstring. Ten inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave." I took the wand and waved it around a bit, but nothing happened, just a few sparks, "Beechwood and phoenix feather. Nine inches. Quite whippy. Try this" I hardly raised the wand when it was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander. "No, no — here, holly and dragon heartstring, twelve inches, springy and supple. Go on, go on, try it out." As soon as I took the wand I felt a warm feeling in my fingers which spread through my whole body and I knew that this was my wand. I was so happy to get my wand and didn't want to part with it anytime soon, but had to give it to Mr. Ollivander, who wrapped it in a box and handed it to Cissa. Next we went by Madam Malkins to see if Draco's fitting was done. "Anne you go find Draco and then get fitted after him, I already spoke with Madam Malkin last week regarding your uniform. I will go find Lucius and ask him to take Draco to Mr. Ollivander's. Meet us at the Ice cream parlour after your fitting" Cissa said leaving me at the door of Madam Malkins. I turned around and found Draco deep in conversation with a pale looking, thin boy with messy hair. Strange for Drake to make friends so soon or maybe he is bullying the poor kid. I turned to go into the shop when I crashed into a huge wall that I didn't see was there, I looked up to see a man who was almost three times the height of Luc, with wild bushy hair. He helped me up very gently and said he was sorry. _**"No problem sir, it's ok. I didn't see where I was going. " **_ I said, to which he smiled at me kindly and looked in the window of the shop (Maybe looking for his son), I rushed inside the shop to see what was going on and heard a snap of their conversation,

Draco was asking something "… he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," said the messy black haired boy.

"Oh, sorry," said Draco, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were _our _kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

But before the messy haired boy could answer, I interrupted them,

"_**Hey Dra are done with your robes?"**_ Both of them turned to me, I nodded at the other boy knowingly, and he silently thanked me for the interruption and hopped down from the footstool.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," Draco said before coming to stand with me "Yes I am done with my robes. Did you get your wand? Can I see it?" He asked. "Yes Dra I got it, but it's with Cissa right now. I will show you it when we reach home, alright?" I said. Madam Malkin came up to us, seeing me she smiled and said "Ah Ms. Thomas, here to be fitted into your robes?, Mrs. Malfoy told me about your robes. We brought in the finest cloth for your robes from china and Paris. Now if you will step on to the stool please?". I quickly stepped onto the stool and she drew a curtain around me. After getting fitted, we thanked her and left to go to the ice cream parlor. We saw Luc and Cissa walking towards the parlor along with Papa. _**" Papa! You made it here!" **_I exclaimed jumping up and down, excited to see him. "Of course darling, I promised you I would, didn't I?" papa said giving me a tight hug. "Well father, Draco and I are going to get his wand. Cissa is taking their school supplies home. You can go with Arianne to get her a pet." Papa nodded and we left to the area with all the pet shops. "Now Lia, what pet would you like to get? A cat or an owl? I hope toads are out of the question?" Papa said smirking, _**"Of course Pa, No toads, or Cissa would freak out, Can we get an owl maybe?" **_I asked. "Of course, owl it is". So we went to the owl emporium, which had many varieties of owls, from tiny pygmy owls to the regular brown owls, white owls, and also a few exotic ones. We looked at all the owls and I decided to buy a Grey and brown eagle owl. It was a baby still and the owner tried to dissuade us from buying it as it was just learning how to fly, But I fell in love with the cute thing and insisted that I would buy only that owl. So, obviously papa bought it, and we left to sneak into the ice-cream parlor and eat some ice cream, because Cissa and Luc weren't here to call it beneath our status to eat at such a common place. And we enjoyed ourselves, visiting different shops, buying prank stuff, and just enjoying each other's company.

**A.N : Hey guys so Arianne's grown up a bit and starting Hogwarts. This is where the real adventure begins. Thank you for reading my story. If you like it please comment and favorite the story. 3 3**


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N:**** Hey guys, I am super inspired today, and hence you get two chapters ****. Hope you like this chapter. **

In this chapter, Arianne's conversations will be in Bold Italic:_**"This is Arianne's conversation" **_

**Disclaimer: All original characters and story belong to J. . I own just my story's plotline and OCs.**

**Chapter 9**

The next month flew away with shopping trips to different countries, and parties. Finally it was the first day of school, the day we were supposed to leave to Hogwarts. That morning I got ready after Cissa checked if I had everything she bought me packed in my trunks, We went to King's cross station, a muggle train station, and went through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, and after Minty and Dobby helped put away all our belongings into the luggage cart, Ciss hugged and kissed us goodbye (Almost at the brink of sobbing, but hiding it perfectly like a Lady) Luc waved goodbye and we both went away to find an empty cart to sit in.

Draco led us to the corner of the train farthest from where all the Gryffindors were, so naturally this cart was filled with Slytherins. Although we could see older students making fun or bullying first years, people steered clear of us, naturally because everyone knew the Malfoys, and knew they would never get away with messing with us. We settled into an empty compartment, after a while Draco left to socialize with Luc's associate's children, which according to him was a necessary and important thing. So I took my wand and after stashing away my robes safely in my bag, went around the train, After walking around for a while, I stood at the door to my compartment, thinking this is it. I am going to be away from my family for almost a year.

Funny how a few years back I didn't even know they existed. Now, I love them and am going to miss them every day. Ithought back to how I felt when I first knew Luc was my brother and about Papa, When Luc hated me, how he slowly started to warm up to me. I was glad that he finally accepted me as his sister, and I loved how he cared for me like a daughter. Our relationship was more like a father and daughter, than half-siblings.

I stood at the door of a compartment deep in thought, till someone tapped me on my shoulders, instantly I turned around and punched them, but they caught my hand before I hit them, and with a sigh said "Remind me never to sneak up on you when your mind is somewhere out of the world Arianne" It was Blaise _**"Blaise! I didn't see you there. Sorry, I was just thinking about school. How are you?", **_"I am fine Arianne, Happen to know where Draco is?" He asked. _**"He was socializing with some people in Slytherin the last time I saw him,and how many times do I have to ask you to stop calling me by my full name, you can call me Anne or Aria" **_, "I know, but it's either Arianne or , you choose which" Blaise said , smirking. _**"Alright, alright, you may call me Arianne, Go find Draco. I am sure your mother would want you to socialize as well".**_

Blaise went to find Draco, and I decided to go inside our compartment. When I turned around, to leave, two people bumped into me - a girl with long dirty blond hair, which was wild and bushy, with big front teeth, and the other was a tall and frightened looking boy who seemed to be sniffing and anxious. Both of them looking out of place in the Slytherin compartment. _**"Hello, are you both lost? You look like first years as well, and believe me you wouldn't want to be in this compartment. Do you need help finding a place to sit?" **_I asked them, making sure to check to see none of the older Slytherins were coming this way. "No, we are not lost. Neville here lost his toad, and I am helping him find it. Did you happen to see a toad by any chance?" The bushy haired girl asked me. _**"No, I didn't see any toad around here, and don't bother asking for it inside this coach or the older students will beat you up". **_

After they left I decided I would walk around a little more, the train had not started yet. As I was looking at all the students, seated by their friends, or waving to their parents, students still on the platform getting hugged by their mothers, Although I made peace with the fact that my mother was dead and in a better place, I couldn't help but daydream that: what if mom were here, waving me goodbye from the platform, The last few days I was missing mom more than ever. I had a few sleepless nights, remembering mom. Remembering her vision, and her death. Remembering everything she ever said or taught me, how we understood each other, how she sent me away so that I could live. Iwished she could be here today, to wave goodbye to me. As I was thinking all this, the train was slowly moving forward and all the students were waving final goodbyes to their parents, and suddenly out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a woman with red hair wave goodbye to me. '_MOM! Was that mom?' _I turned to look back, but didn't find her. Standing there was a woman with red hair, holding the hand of a girl with equally red hair, waving to some students. Maybe I mistook her for mom because of the red hair. I sighed loudly and started walking back to our compartment before Dra comes looking for me.

Strange how all the kids were whispering among themselves. I wondered if something was wrong.

I waited in the compartment for a very long time, still no sign of Draco, so I went back and looked everywhere but couldn't find him. But I did find out what all the whispering and gossip was about, Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived was starting Hogwarts this year and everyone was talking about it. That explains it, maybe Drake had gone off to find the savior and knowing Drake, and he would either try to become best buddies with him or hurt him very badly.

I rushed to look for him; I walked through all the coaches trying to find him, at last I reached Gryffindor and/or Hufflepuff coach where I met with Hermione and Neville who were still looking for his toad. Hearing a huge commotion we all rushed off in that direction thinking it was a fight. "What _has _been going on here?" Hermione said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and a red haired boy picking up a rat by his tail and saying "I think he's been knocked out," to a black haired boy, the same one I met at Madam Malkin's, who looked closer at the rat and said "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep."

Before I could say anything, the red haired boy asked "You've met Malfoy before?" the other boy explained how he met him in Diagon Alley. "I've heard of his family, They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." The red haired boy said before he turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said the red haired boy, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

"All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" Ron glared at her as she left. It was mean of him to speak like that to Hermione, and the way he spoke about my family made my blood boil. But I knew he was not the only one who thought Malfoys were Dark wizards and witches, there were many others.

I was about to leave as well, but the black haired boy introduced himself, he was Harry Potter (THE HARRY POTTER!) and the other one with red hair was Ron Weasley. _**"Nice to meet you both Harry and Ron, but Hermione is right we need to get changed into our robes. See you at the school?" **_I said before leaving them to get changed. Just as I reached the compartment which had my bag and robes, a voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately." So I hurriedly rushed in, bolted the door and changed into my robes. And sat down looking out of the window, after a few moments the train slowed right down and finally stopped.

People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. I was thankful for Cissa insisting I carry a shawl because I could see people shivering in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students walking by, and a familiar voice shouting: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" I finally could see that it was the same man whom I bumped into in front of Madam Malkin's shouting "C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, all of us followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of us, and nobody spoke much. "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," The giant man named Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. "No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. I got into a boat with Draco, and two other boys(Thankfully not his new "friends" Crabbe and Goyle. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over us as we sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; we all bent their heads and the boats carried us through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face and were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking us right underneath the castle. We reached a kind of underground harbor, where we clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. "Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then we clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. After we walked up a flight of stone steps and stood around the huge, oak front door. "Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches and a magnificent marble staircase facing us led to the upper floors.

We followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. We could all hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed us, first years, into a small, empty chamber off the hall Where we all stood together nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. "I shall return when we are ready for you, Please wait quietly" Professor McGonagall said leaving the chamber.

Then something happened that made us all jump up and scream. "What the —?" someone gasped. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

Professor McGonagall asked us to form a line and follow her, so we walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, laid with glittering golden plates and goblets where the rest of the students were sitting. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led us first years up here, where we came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind us. Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said.

"Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause —

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.

"Neville Longbottom", he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

Draco strode forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" he went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased that he made Luc and Cissa proud of him.

There weren't many people left now. "Moon"… , "Nott"… , "Parkinson"… , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"… , then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… , and then, of course, the celebrity of the century — "Potter, Harry!" The hat took a while to decide and finally said "Gryffindor", and the whole Gryffindor table started cheering "We got potter, We got potter" could be heard among the cheers. After P's came the R's, S's and finally T's.

"Thomas, Arianne" I nervously went forward, and sat down on the stool, the hat was placed on my head.

"Ah! Ms. Thomas, or should I say Ms. Malfoy, I think you would be delighted to be sorted into Slytherin like all your family? Or maybe… Let's see, you are a very powerful witch, Ah The Shield I see, Hmm, how about placing you in Gryffindor, you are very brave. Or maybe Ravenclaw would suit you as you have a yearning for knowledge and are very Clever. Hufflepuff would suit you as well, you are very loyal and hardworking. Now, which house to put you in? Oh yes! I know, better be….."

…**to be continued..**

**A.N : Hey guys so which house do you think Arianne will be in? The first person to comment with the correct answer will get a shout-out, and also will get the chance to decide an important event in this story. The next chapter will be posted after I get atleast 5 comments guessing her house (Or till atleast one correct Answer ) Thank you for reading my story. If you like it please comment and favorite the story. 3 3**


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